Bag stringing machines



July 25, 1961 N. G. BAIZE BAG STRINGING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMay 5, 1959 IN VEN TOR.

NORMAN 6. BAIZE ATTORNEY July 25, 1961 N. G. BAIZE BAG s'mmcmc MACHINESFiled May 5, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

NORMAN G. BAIZE BY j J/WJ a.

ATTORNEY y 1961 N. G. BAIZE 2,993,455

BAG STRINGING MACHINES Filed May 5, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 BET 3.

IN VEN TOR.

NORMAN a. BAIZE By 2 m ATTORNEY July 25, 1961 N. G. BAIZE BAG s'mmcmeMACHINES 5 sheets-sheet 4 Filed May 5, 1959 as a INVENTOR. NORMAN G.BAIZE A TTORNEY July 25, 1961 N. e. BAIZE BAG STRINGING MACHINES 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 5, 1959 INVENTOR. NORMAN G. BAIZE B @%%W ATTORN E Y United States Patent C) i 2,993,455 BAG STRINGING MACHINESNorman G. Baize, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Chase Bag Company, NewYork, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 5, 1959, Ser. No.811,113 10 Claims. (Cl. 112-2) The present invention relates to amachine for automatically stringing plastic bags for produce and thelike which constitutes an improvement over the machines of Edward E.West patents, Nos. 2,511,658June 13, 1950, and 2,727,477-December 20,1955.

The machines of the aforesaid patents accomplished the stringing of openmesh type bags automatically as distinguished from the old hand methods.In view of the open mesh nature of the bags strung on these machines, itwas necessary to pleat or corrugate the mouths thereof and to deliverdraw strings through the pleated mouths to permit of the latter to beopened and closed. While these machines have very satisfactorily strungopen mesh type bags, this particular bag has largely been supplanted bypolyethylene and other plastic bags which are provided with hemmedmouths and consequently necessitate the insertion of the draw stringsthrough the hems thereof. For this reason, the present machine wasdesigned to enable the stringing of plastic hemmed bags.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention toprovide a novel and improved automatic machine for uniformly stringingplastic hemmed bags.

Another object is the provision of an automatic machine having a turrethead with a series of radially extending bag supporting members forsupporting plastic hemmed bags during insertion of and knotting of thedraw strings.

A still further object is to provide a novel needle construction havingmeans associated therewith for clamping a draw string and directingblasts of air into the ends of the bag hems for expanding the latter toenable the free passage of the needles through the hems.

These and other objects and advantages will be apparent as thespecification is considered with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of the complete bag stringing machine;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of the turret head, showing the relativepositions assumed by the bag supporting members during the variousoperations;

FIGURE 3 is a section on the line 33 of FIGURE 2, showing a portion ofthe cam and associated mechanism for actuating the bag supportingmembers;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of one of the bag supporting members;

FIGURE 5 is a section through one of the bag supporting members showingthe bag assembled thereon and the relative positions of the stringingneedles;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation of the bag stringing mechanism andoperating mechanism therefor;

FIGURE 7 is a section through the needle saddle;

FIGURE 8 is a section through the needles;

FIGURE 9 is a front elevation of plastic hemmed bag strung on thismachine;

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of the hemmed mouth of a bag afterstringing and knotting;

FIGURE 11 is a section through the bag on the line 11--11 of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 12 is a plan view of a portion of the machine, showing the stringfeeding mechanism; and

FIGURE 13 is a side elevation of the string supply and associatedmechanism.

Prior to considering the structural details of the machine, the generaloperation thereof will be generally 2,993,455. Patented July 25, 1961ice discussed. The open hemmed mouth of a polyethylene bag is manuallyplaced over the horizontally disposed forwardly extending series ofadjustable bag supporting members of a rotating turret head having fourseries of radially extending bag supporting members, the bag supportingmembers are moved inwardly and laterally adjacent one another to enablethe bag to be positioned thereon and are, thereafter, expanded to retainthe bag thereon, the turret head is rotated ninety degrees to carry thebag supporting members and bag to a downwardly extending verticalposition where the hemmed mouth is opened by air pressure from theneedles and prior to and during the forward passage of the needlesthrough the bag hems to receive and grip a string fed thereinto, and theneedles are thereafter retracted through the hems to carry the stringtherethrough, the ends of the string are then knotted; and a furtherninety degree rotation of the turret delivers the strung and knotted bagto a horizontal rearwardly extending position where the bag is removedand stacked.

As this bag stringing machine generally approximates and functions inthe same general manner as the machines of previously mentioned WestPatents 2,511,658 and 2,727,477, it is not believed necessary to give adetailed description of the specific construction and operation of thepresent machine. However, it should be noted that the aforesaid Westpatents relate to machines for stringing andknotting open mesh typefabric bags, whereas the machine of this invention has been revised andso improved that it will accommodate, string and knot plastic bagshaving preformed hems in the mouth ends thereof. In the machines of theWest patents, an unhemmed bag was positioned on the horizontallydisposed bag holding arms of the turret head, with the arms beingslightly collapsed to receive the bag, and a ninety degree rotation ofthe turret delivers the arms and bag to the downwardly dependingvertical stringing action, at which time the arms were further collapsedor moved inwardly to enable fingers to move between the arms to pleatthe mouth of the netted bag arranged thereon. The stringing needles werethen caused to pass through the pleated bag mouth so as to pick up astring and retract the same through the pleated mouth to enable the endsof the string to be thereafter knotted. Upon a further ninety degreemovement of the turret to a rearwardly extending horizontal position,the pleating fingers are rocked out of engagement with the bag and bagholding arms are moved to partially open or extended positions so thatthe strung bag is somewhat loosely supported thereon and the strung bagis removed therefrom and stacked. After removal of the bag from thearms, a further ninety degree rotation of the said arms to a verticalextending position causes the arms to be moved to their fully extendedor expanded position. This cycle thereafter continues, with it beingapparent that while one bag is being positioned on one set of turretarms, the preceding two bags are being removed from and strung on theirrespective turret arms. In other words the upright turret arms are theonly ones not handling a bag.

Inasmuch as the present machine is intended to handle prehemmed andpreformed plastic bags, the four pairs of bag holding arms of the turrethead are not equipped with pleating fingers and are so mounted that theyare partially collapsed at the horizontally forwardly extending bagreceiving station to enable a plastic hemmed bag to be insertedthereover, after which a ninety degree rotation of the turret moves thearms with a bag thereon to the downwardly depending stringing station,during which travel, the arms are moved to fully expanded position so asto stretch and retain the bag thereon. After the hemmed mouth is strungat the downwardly depending station, the arms with the strung bagthereon are moved to the rearwardly extending horizontal position andthe arms are again partially collapsed to release their stretchingengagement with the bag and permit the latter to be removed therefromand stacked. A further ninety degree rotation of the turret moves thearms to a vertical idle or unbagged position, with the arms still beingin the "partially collapsed position they were in at the bag removingstation. Thus, as the cycle continues, the unbagged arms are in positionto receive another bag when they reach the forwardly extendinghorizontal bag feeding vided by a wall into .two cam compartments.Extending longitudinally through and suitably journalled in the cam box4 is a main drive shaft 8 which is driven through the usual driveconnections by an electric motor on the frame. Extending transverselythrough and suitably journalled in the spaced cam boxes 3 and 4 is ahorizontal driven shaft 19 which is arranged above and at right anglesto the main driven shaft 8. The horizontal shaft 19 is drivinglyconnected by gearing and the like with the main driven shaft 8.

Just as in the machines of the West patents, the present apparatus isprovided with a rotating turret head 22 having four radially extendingseries of expansible bag supporting members for receiving preselected,preformed and hemmed plastic bags in a horizontal position and forintermittently rotating the bags to a downwardly depending verticalstringing position, thence to a horizontal rearwardly extendinghorizontal position Where the stnlng bags are removed from the head anddelivered into a stacking hopper, and thence to an'upwardly extendingvertical idle position, after which the head is .further rotated toreturn the bag supporting members to the first mentioned horizontal bagreceiving station in position to receive another bag for stringing. Itwill, of course, be understood from the following description that Whileone bag is being positioned by an operator on the turret head, thepreceding bags are simultaneously being strung and removed therefrom, sothat the turret head simultaneously accommodates three hemmed plasticbags for the purposes hereinafter set forth.

The rotating bag holding turret head '22 is mounted on a horizontalshaft 23, suitably journalled in the spaced walls 24 and 25 of the cambox 4 and projecting laterally from the wall 24 adjacent the upper endthereof, and the extended end of shaft 23 is journalled in the upper endof an upstanding bracket 26 mounted on the upper end of cam box 3. Thebag holding turret head comprises two spaced annular plates or discs28--28' carrying a series of radially extending groups of removable bagsupporting fingers 29. Each group generally consists of four fingers29a, 29b, 29c and 29d and a stationary finger 29e, although depending onthe size or width of the bag being positioned thereon, only threefingers may be arranged thereon. Each of the four fingers of the fourspaced groups thereof is removably connected to T-shaped carrying blocks30 sleeved on four pairs of spaced rods .36 extending transverselybetween and suitably secured by nuts 37 to the turret head plates 2828'.The blocks .30, carrying the stationary fingers 292, adjacent plate 28,

are bolted thereto so as to be fixedly mounted on the rods 36, Whereasthe remaining four blocks of each group are slidably arranged thereon.As each group of bag supporting fingers and their supporting andoperating mechanism is substantially the same, it is necessary todescribe-only one group thereof. Thus, one end of one of -a--series'of-four rods -39'--is :threadedly connected, as

at 40, to the third block 30, that is, the block adjacent the one fixedto the inner side of plate 28', at a point intermediate the base portionthereof, and the rod 39 is sleeved through aligned bores in the baseportions of the remaining two blocks 30. The outer end of each of therods 39 project through plate 28, and carries a cam roller 44 thereonwhich is seated in a relatively wide cam groove 46 formed in the annulusof a cam 45 carried by shaft 23. The cam 45 is bolted to the upperend ofbracket 26 so that the turret head rotates relative to the stationarycam 45.

The curvature of the cam groove is such that, during rotation of theturret head, the rods 39 will be reciprocated through the plate 28 so asto move the slidably arranged blocks and supporting fingers 29 towardthe fixed blocks and supporting fingers 29d and 29s. The movement of theblocks and bag supporting fingers 29 is effected by a series ofinterconnected pivoted X-shaped toggle links 48. The latter intersect orcross one another and are pivoted together at their points ofintersection and to the undersides of each of the blocks in the centersthereof by pins 49 extending from the blocks. The outer ends of thelinks 48 are pivoted together, as at 5%. As rod 39 is connected to theblock carrying finger 29c, sliding movement of the rod 39, under camaction, will push the block and, the interconnection of the blocks, willcause the latter with their supporting fingers to be moved from thespaced partially collapsed bag feeding position to the spaced fullyextended or expanded vertical bag gripping and stringing position. Inother Words, the interconnecting links 48 constitute a pantograph ortoggle to move the blocks and bag supporting fingers toward and awayfrom each other.

As best shown in FIGURE 2, each of the bag supporting fingers 29consists of an elongated finger having relatively fiat top and bottomfaces having rounded outer bag engaging end portions 52. The flat facesof the fingers 29 are curved inwardly, as at 53, adjacent the basethereof to provide cur/ed needle receiving grooves or openings to permitpassage of the stringing needles therethrough.

The 'bag holding turret head is intermittently rotated to carry the bagholding members to the various stations by means of a'Geneva mechanismwhich generally approximates that shown and described in the aforesaidWest patents. Each step by step movement imparted to the Geneva gearcauses the turret head to rotate one quarter of a revolution thus movingthe first bag receiving members 29 from a horizontal to a downwardlydepending or vertical stringing position, and thence to a horizontaldelivering station, and finally to an upwardly extending vertical oridle position.

A polyethylene or other transparent plastic preformed and hemmed bag300, shown in FIGURES 9 and 10, is positioned on the turret head by themachine operator grasping the same and inserting the open hemmed mouththereof over the horizontally disposed bag supporting fingers 29 andpushing the same therealong until the bag abuts metal stops on theblocks. As the bag supporting fingers 29 are in their partiallycollapsed position when the bag is sleeved thereover, the bag will bemore or less loosely positioned thereon. The ends of the bag hems 301areapertured, as at 302, to provide openings for the entry and passageof the needles therethrough. As the turret head rotates, the bagsupporting fingers with the bag thereon are expanded or moved laterallyto grip and support the bag thereon. Thus, when the downwardly extendingvertical stringing station is reached, the mouth end of the bag 300 willbe aligned with a pair of parallel horizontally disposed needles 81.

The needles, together .with their operating mechanism .which areparticularly shown and described in 'Edward E.

West Tobacco Bag Stringing, Patents Reissue 22,596; 2,3 67,986;2,486,350 and the previously mentioned West Patents 2,511,658 and2,727,477 on Bag Stringing Machines, are provided with a draw string andoperated in generally the same manner and by the same mechanismdisclosed in the aforesaid patents and, therefore, detailed drawings anddescription of the needles and associated operating parts will bedispensed with. However, the needle mechanism has been revised in thepresent machine, as hereinafter indicated, so that hemmed plastic bagsmay be strung thereby. The needles comprise pointed shank members 81reciprocably mounted in tubular sleeve members 82 for opening andclosing the needle jaws 83, formed by the ends 84 of the sleeves and therear faces 86 of the pointed ends 85 of the pair of needles 81, andclamping the ends of a draw string 118 therein. The shanks 81 are hollowto provide conduits or air flow passages 81 extending longitudinallytherethrough, which conduits 81' extend into the pointed ends 81 thereofand thence diverge angularly, forwardly and inwardly, as at 81", andopen into the side walls of the ends, intermediate the pointed tips andrear faces 86 thereof. In other words, as best shown in FIGURE 8, theangularly disposed passages 81" in the two needles extend inwardly andforwardly in opposing directions for a purpose to be presentlydescribed. The needles are rigidly supported at their rear ends by andare fixed in a needle saddle 89 suitably secured to the top of a needlecarriage 90. The needle carriage is provided with laterally extendingside flanges 91 which interfit in grooves 93 (see FIGURE 7) formed in apair of spaced parallel tracks 92 fixed to the upperside of a flat topplate 94 mounted on and suitably secured to supporting brackets 95carried by the cam box walls 24 and 25. The rear ends of the pointedshank members project rearwardly through and are fixed in a small block96, suitably mounted on the carriage 90 for slight sliding movementrelative thereto. Block 96 is inwardly actuated against the tension ofsprings 97 mounted on posts 98 by means of a small cam 99 carried by onearm 101 of a crank 100. The arm 101 is rotatably mounted in a block 102mounted on the needle carriage 90. The other arm of crank 100 carries aroller 104 periodically actuated by a horizontally disposed arm 105which is pivotally mounted on the top plate 94 by links 106106 so thatthe arm is vertically movable relative to the plate. The needle carriageis reciprocated back and forth by the action of a suitably actuated arm107, in turn pivoted at its one end to the rear end of the carriageblock 102, and the other end of the arm 107 is pivoted to the upper endof a vertically disposed lever 108 which is pivotally mounted at itslower end, at at 109, to the machine frame. A cam roller 110 is mountedon the lever 108 and rides in a cam groove 112 in the side face of a cam111 mounted on the main longitudinal driven shaft 8. The curvature ofthe cam groove 112 is such that as the cam is rotated, the roller 110will be acted upon and the lever 108 and arm 107 will be rocked and theneedle carriage 90 reciprocated. During the reciprocation of the needlecarriage, the needles are moved to open and closed positions to receiveand clamp a draw string and thereafter release the same after the stringhas been delivered through the bag hems by the needles by the action ofthe horizontally disposed arm 105 on the crank 100. The arm 105 israised and lowered by means of an offset arm 113 connected to the upperend of a vertical lever 114 which is journalled on the frame, as at114'. A cam roller 116, carried by the lower end of lever 114, rides onthe periphery of a cam 115 on driven shaft 8. The curvature of the cam115 is such that rotation of the cam causes the lever 114 to bevertically moved and the arm 105 to be raised and lowered to open andclose the needles.

After the needles have passed through the bag hems on the forwardstroke, it is necessary to feed a string into the needle jaws so thatthe string will be drawn through the bag hems on the rearward stroke ofthe needles. As the string feeding and associated mechanism generallyapproximates that shown and described in West Patent 2,727,477, the sameneed not be fully described herein. As best shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and12, an arcuately shaped horizontally disposed string feeding guide tube117, through which extends the string 118 drawn from a string supplyspool 200 (FIGURE 13) is fixedly mounted adjacent its rear end in anupstanding post 119 carried by a crank arm 120 pivoted to the frame. Thecrank arm 120 is pivotally connected by a link 122 to the upper end of avertical lever 123 fulcrumed on a shaft 124 in the cam box 3. The lever123 is formed with a crank arm 125 carrying a cam roller 126 on the endthereof which rides in a cam groove in one side face of a cam 127(FIGURE 12) mounted on the horizontal driven shaft 19. The curvature ofthe cam groove is such that rotation of the cam 127 rocks the lever 123and swings the string tube 117 through an arc and reciprocates the samethrough two spaced guide blocks 129 on a top supporting plate 130,suitably mounted on the upper end of the cam box 3, and across the pathof the needles 81 to carry the string across into position to be grippedby a string gripper 131. During the reciprocation of the string guidetube 117 across the path of the needles, the former pass through alignedslotted openings 133 in the needle guide blocks 129, the latter alsobeing formed with longitudinal openings for the guiding of the needlestherethrough. The string is also caused to be clamped in the feedingtube, by mechanism shown and described in the aforesaid West patent, sothat, after the string has been clamped in the needle eyes, the stringmay be clearly severed. The string gripper. and associated mechanismapproximates that shown in the West patent.

A cutter rod lying approximately parallel with the string guide tube 117is journalled in the spaced guide blocks 129 on plate 130, and theforward end of the rod 185 is provided with a laterally extending cutterblade 186. The latter coacts with a stationary blade 186' secured to oneside of one of the needle guide blocks in cutting the string fed acrossthe needles by guide tube 117, after the string has been gripped bygripper 131 and pulled outwardly by a bent string hook formed on theupper end of a vertical lever 188 (FIGURE 1). The lever 188 extendsthrough an elongated guide slot in a bracket 190 secured to the side ofthe cam box 3, and is pivoted at its lower end, as at 192 to the machineframe, and is pivotally connected intermediate its ends to a rod 193which in turn is pivoted to the vertical needle saddle actuating lever108. Thus, the lever 188 and string hook are reciprocated simultaneouslywith the lever 108 and needle saddle so that the hook is moved laterallyin a clockwise direction, viewing FIGURE 1, and engages with the string118 intermediate the needle jaws 83, whereupon movement of the lever 188in the opposing direction pulls the string outwardly to form a loop. Thecutter rod 185 is rocked in its bearings to move the cutter blade 186downwardly into cutting engagement with the fixed blade 186 to sever thestring by means of a bent lever which is connected at its upper end to acrank 194 fixedly secured to the cutter rod 185. The lower end of lever195 is pivoted to the outer end of an arm 196 positioned in cam box 3and which arm is fulcrumed, as at 197, to the cam box wall. A roller,carried by arm 196, engages with and rides in a cam groove in the faceof cam 198 mounted on the horizontal driven shaft 19. The curvature ofthe cam groove is such that the lever 195 and crank 194 are rocked toactuate the cutter rod to sever the string 118.

It will be noted that the string supply spool 200 is mounted on alaterally extending rod 201 connected to an upright supporting post 202(FIGURE 13) which is preferably arranged adjacent the machine. Thestring is spirally wound on the spool 200, in a conventional manner, andthe end thereof projects through a circular wire ring 203 formed on theend of a vertical wire 204 suspended, as at 205, from the outer end of alaterally extending rod 206 connected to the upper end of post 202. Thewire ring is aligned with and spaced from the outer end of spool 200 sothat, as the string is withdrawn from the spool, the frictionalengagement of the string with the wire ring 203 in its passagetherethrough will tend to prevent the string from flopping around andbecoming entangled on the spool. After passing through the ring 263, thestring 11% feeds through the wide end of a hollow elongated tapered cone207 (FIGURE 12) supported by a bracket connected to cam box 3. Thus, thestring will be fed in a more or less straight line by the time it passesthrough the reduced end of the cone 207 so that the string guide tube117 accurately and uniformly feeds the string into the needle jaws.

When the string has been gripped by gripper 131 and the string guidetube 117 retracted across the path of the needles 81, the bent stringhook on lever 188 will draw the string outwardly to provide thenecessary length of string. During this operation, the needles havereached the end of their forward stroke and the jaws 83 thereof areopened and positioned in alignment with the string guide tube 117 andstring gripper 131, at which time the gripper and cutter 186simultaneously move downwardly a relatively short distance therebycarrying or placing the string in the open jaws 83 of the needles, atwhich time the needles are actuated to cause the jaws 83 to close uponand grip the string, and the cutter blade 186 is actuated to engage thestationary blade 186' and the string is severed or sheared. During thismovement, the gripper 131 is actuated to free or disengage the string.The needles are now in position to move rearwardly and carry the stringthrough the bag hems into position to be acted upon by a string knotterfor knotting the free ends of the string. As the knotter mechanismgenerally resembles that shown and described in the aforementioned Westpatent, it is not considered necessary to further allude thereto herein.

Attached to the rear ends of each of the hollow needle shanks 81, wherethey project through the small block 96 of needle carriage 90, is asuitable conduit 310 which extends rearwardly and downwardly of thecarriage and is coupled in any suitable manner to a manifold 311,secured by :an upstanding bracket 312 secured to the frame. A conduit313, connected to the underside of manifold 311, extends upwardly and issuitably coupled to the top of a valve casing 314 secured to the side ofbracket 312 adjacent the upper end thereof, and the valve is connectedby a conduit 315 with a suitable source of compressed air, not shown.Any suitable valve means may be arranged in the valve casing 314, forexample a spring pressed slide valve, to control the passage of air fromthe source of supply to the conduit 313 and thence to the manifold 311and needle conduits 310. In the present machine, the valve is providedwith a pin 316 projecting through the side of the valve casing which isadapted to be periodically engaged by the upper edge of a V-shapedsegmental earn 317 which is pivotally connected at the bottom apexthereof, as at 318, to the edge of the bracket 312. An arm 319 securedto the side of cam 317 extends upwardly therefrom and carries a camroller 320 on the upper end thereof which rides on the annulus of cam111 and engages with a cam lug 321 thereon whereby the segmental cam 317is rocked in a clockwise direction, viewing FIG- URE 6, to move thevalve pin 316 inwardly or laterally to open the valve, against thepressure of a spring or the like, not shown, to open the same so thatair will flow through conduit 313 into the manifold 311 and thencethrough conduits 319 to and through the needles. Thus, air is caused topass through the needles prior to their entry into the bag hems for apurpose to be presently described.

With a bag positioned on a series of bag supporting fingers at thehorizontal station, the turret head is rotated to move the bag to thedownwardly extending vertical stringing station, during which movementthe fingers 29 are moved laterally to open or expanded positions tofirmly support the bag thereon. The needles 81 are then brought intoplay and, on the forward stroke of the needle carriage, the pointedshanks 85 thereof approach the apertures 302 in the ends of the plasticbag hems 301 and air is caused to flow through the passage 81' in thehollow shanks and thence through the angular passages 81" adjacent thepointed ends thereof so that a blast of air is directed into the hemapertures 302 which spreads open the ends of the hems and causes theapertures to be aligned with the pointed ends '85 of the needles. Thus,the pointed ends of the needles are assured of uniformly and accuratelyentering the apertures and passing through the hems. As the air valve314 actuation is effected by the action of cam lug 321 on cam 111, itwill be understood that the blasts of air flowing through the needleswill only last long enough for the pointed needle shanks to properlyenter into the bag hems, after which continued forward movement of theneedle carriage will result in the needles passing entirely through thehems 301 and passing through the apertures 302 at the opposing endsthereof. In other words, each needle passes through each hem and out theopposite side thereof. After the needles have passed through the baghems on the forward stroke, a string is fed into the needle jaws by thestring feed mechanism 117 and the needles are caused to be closed toclamp the string therein. The string is thereafter severed, and thestring drawn outwardly in the form of a loop by lever 188. After theseoperations, the needles are retracted or moved rearwardly to carry thestring through the bag hems into position to be acted upon by the stringknotting mechanism, not shown herein, for knotting the free ends of thestring. During the knotting operation, the needle jaws are actuated toopen position to release the ends of the string and the stringing andknotting is completed.

Upon completion of the stringing and knotting operations, the turrethead is further rotated one quarter of a revolution to move the bagsupporting fingers 29 and strung bag to a horizontal releasing andremoving station. During this rotation of the turret head, the cam 45exerts a pull on the rod 39 which in turn causes the series ofinterconnecting links 48 to move laterally from the fully expandedpositions they assumed at the stringing station to partially closed orcollapsed positions so that the bag carrying fingers 29 arecorrespondingly moved laterally to partially collapsed positions so thatthe bag is somewhat loosely supported thereon -and free to be engaged bya bag removing member 249 which removes the same from the fingers anddelivers it into a hopper or the like where the strung bags are arrangedin a stack of a predetermined number of bags preparatory to being storedor filled. As the bag removing member 249 also generally approximatesand functions as that shown and described in the said West patents, noother description is considered necessary.

After the bag is removed from the rearwardly extending horizontallydisposed bag supporting fingers 29, rotation of the turret head movesthe same to the vertical idle position, preparatory to being rotatedthrough another approximately ninety degrees into the horizontal bagreceiving position. As the turret head and associated stringing,knotting and bag removing operations are synchronized and function intimed relation with each other, it will be apparent that while theoperator is placing one bag on a set of bag supporting fingers, thepreceding bags are being respectively removed from the bag fingers andstrung, so that the three main operations of applying a bag, stringingand knotting, and removing a bag are taking place simultaneously.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred form of my bagstringing machine, it will be understood that various changes andimprovements may be made therein without departing from the scope andspirit of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

l. A machine for stringing hemmed bags comprising a bag holder having abag supporting member thereon for supporting a hemmed bag for stringing,said member including a series of spaced fingers mounted for lateralmovement from spaced apart to collapsed positions, means associated withsaid supporting member for moving said fingers relative to each other,stringing needles and needle operating mechanism for entering theneedles through the hems of said bag, said needles being hollow, asource of air, and means associated with said needles for conducting airfrom said source to and through said needles to open the bag hems priorto the entry of said needles thereinto to facilitate the passage of saidneedles therethrough, and means for threading said needles with string,all of said means being synchronized and operable in timed relation witheach other during the operation of the machine.

2. A machine for stringing hemmed bags comprising a bag holder having abag supporting member thereon for supporting a hemmed bag for stringing,said member including a series of spaced fingers mounted for lateralmovement from spaced apart to collapsed positions, means associated withsaid supporting member for moving said fingers relative to each other,stringing needles and needle operating mechanism for entering theneedles through the hems of said bag, said needles being hollow, asource of air, conduits connecting said needles to said air source forconducting air to and through said needles to open the bag hems prior tothe entry of said needles thereinto to facilitate the passage of saidneedles therethrough, valve means for controlling the flow of airthrough said conduits, and means for threading said needles with string,all of said means being synchronized and operable in timed relation witheach other during the operation of the machine.

3. A machine for stringing bags comprising a bag holder having a bagsupporting member thereon for supporting a hemmed bag for stringing,said member including a series of spaced fingers mounted for lateralmovement from spaced apart to collapsed positions, means associated withsaid supporting member for moving said fingers relative to each other,stringing needles and needle operating mechanism for entering theneedles through the hems of said bag, said needles being mounted forsliding movement, and said needles being hollow and having stringgripping jaws, a source of air, and conduits connecting said needles tosaid source of air for conducting air to and through said needles toopen the bag hems and facilitate the entry and passage of said needlestherethrough, and means for threading said needle jaws with string, allof said means being synchronized and operable in timed relation witheach other during the operation of the machine.

4. In a machine for stringing hemmed bags as described in claim 1, saidneedles being mounted on a carriage for sliding movement, said needlesbeing hollow and having string gripping jaws, a source of air, conduitsconnecting said needles to said source of air, and valve means forperiodically conducting air through said conduits to and through saidneedles during their sliding movement to open the bag hems andfacilitate the entry and passage of said needles therethrough, and meansfor threading said needle jaws with string, all of said means beingsynchronized and operable in timed relation with each other during theoperation of the machine.

5. In a machine for stringing hemmed bags as described in claim 3, saidneedles being mounted on a carriage for sliding reciprocating movement,said needles being hollow and having string gripping jaws, a source ofair, conduits connecting said needles to said source of air, and valvemeans for periodically conducting air through said conduits to andthrough said needles during their forward sliding movement towards a bagon one of said bag supporting members to open the bag hems andfacilitate the entry and passage of said needles therethrough, and meansfor threading said needle jaws with string, all of said means beingsynchronized and operable in timed relation, with each other during theoperation of the machine.

6. In a machine for stringing hemmed bags as described in claim 3, saidneedles comprising hollow shanks, sleeves within which said shanks aremovable, a carriage mounted for sliding reciprocating movement, saidneedles being supported by said carriage, said needle shanks and sleevesbeing relatively movable to provide string gripping means, a source ofair, conduits connecting said needles to said source of air, and valvemeans for periodically conducting air through said conduits to andthrough said needles during their forward sliding movement towards a bagon one of said bag supporting members to open the bag hems andfacilitate the entry and passage of said needles therethrough, and meansfor threading said needle gripping means with string, all of said meansbeing synchronized and operable in timed relation with each other duringthe operation of the machine.

7. A machine for stringing hemmed bags, a bag holder having a bagsupporting member thereon for supporting a hemmed bag for stringing,stringing needles and needle operating mechanism for entering theneedles through the hems of said bag, said needles comprising elongatedsleeves, elongated shanks extending through said sleeves, said shankshaving pointed ends and hollow bores extending therethrough, a carriagemounted for sliding reciprocating movement, said needle sleeves andshanks being supported by said carriage, means for moving the pointedends of said shanks relative to said sleeves to provide needle grippingmeans, a source of air, conduits connect ing said needles to said sourceof air, and valve means for periodically conducting air through saidconduits to and through said needles during their forward slidingmovement towards said bag on said bag supporting member to open the baghems and facilitate the entry and passage of said hollow needle shankstherethrough, and means for threading said needle gripping means withstring, all of said means being synchronized and operable in timedrelation with each other during the operation of the machine.

8. A machine for stringing hemmed bags, a bag holder having a bagsupporting member thereon for supporting a hemmed bag for stringing,said hems having the ends thereof apertured, stringing needles andneedle operating mechanism for entering the needles through the hems ofsaid bag, said needles comprising elongated sleeves, elongated shanksextending through said sleeves, said shanks having pointed ends andhollow bores extending therethrough, a carriage mounted for slidingreciprocating movement, said needle sleeves and shanks being supportedby said carriage, means for moving the pointed ends of said shanksrelative to said sleeves to provide needle string gripping means, asource of air, conduits connecting the hollow shanks of said needles tosaid source of air, and valve means for periodically conducting airthrough said conduits to and through said needles during their forwardsliding movement towards said bag on said bag supporting member to blowopen the apertured bag hems and facilitate the entry and passage of saidneedles therethrough, and means for threading said needle gripping meanswith string, all of said means being synchronized and operable in timedrelation with each other during the operation of the machine.

9. A machine for stringing hemmed bags, a bag holder having a bagsupporting member thereon for supporting a hemmed bag for stringing,said hems having the ends thereof apertured, a pair of stringing needlesand needle operating mechanism for entering the needles through the hemsof said bag, each of said needles comprising an elongated sleeve anelongated shank extending through said sleeve, said shank having apointed end and a hollow bore extending therethrough, angularlyextending opposed bores in said pointed ends connecting with said hollowbores, a carriage mounted for sliding reciprocating movement, saidneedle sleeves and shanks being supported by said carriage, means formoving the pointed ends of said shanks relative to said sleeves toprovide needle string gripping means, a source of air, conduitsconnecting the hollow shanks of said needles to said source of air, andvalve means for periodically conducting air through said conduits to andthrough said shanks and bores in said pointed needle ends to blow openthe apertured bag hems and facilitate the entry and passage of saidneedles therethrough, and means for threading said needle gripping meanswith string, all of said means being synchronized and operable in timedrelation with each other during the operation of the machine.

10. A machine for stringing hemmed bags, a bag holder having a bagsupporting member thereon for supporting a hemmed bag for stringing,said hems having the ends thereof apertured, a pair of stringing needlesand needle operating mechanism for entering the needles through the hemsof said bag, said needles comprising elongated sleeves, elongated shanksextending through said sleeves, said shanks having pointed ends andhollow bores extending therethrough, inwardly diverging bores in saidpointed ends connecting with said hollow bores, a car- 12 riage mountedfor sliding reciprocating movement, said needle sleeves and shanks beingsupported by said carriage, means for moving the pointed ends of saidshanks relative to said sleeves to provide needle string gripping means,a source of air, conduits connecting the hollow shanks of said needlesto said source of air, and cam operated valve means for periodicallyconducting air through said conduits to and through said shanks anddiverging bores in said pointed needle ends to blow open the aperturedbag hems and facilitate the entry and passage of said needlestherethrough, and means for threading said needle gripping means withstring, all of said means being synchronized and operable in timedrelation with each other during the operation of the machine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,154,743 Habas et a1 Apr. 18, 1939 2,522,788 Ingraham Sept. 19, 19502,727,477 West Dec. 20, 1955 2,745,583 Harker May 15, 1956

